Angry Chinese Blogger

Angry Chinese Blogger: The news and views about China that the big media can't, or won't, tell you

The is no single truth

Menu: Home

60 years of 'Sino-Japanese friendship' exhibition opens in Tokyo, but not in Beijing.

« H E Sino-Japanese :: Includes Translations :: News and Perspectives :: email
posted Monday, 1 August 2005

What do you get if you combine Jackie Chan, a world-class table tennis player, and a hall full of photographs? The answer, a rare attempts at Sino-Japanese bridge building.

Late last week the 六本木ヒルズ (Roppongi Hills) Commercial Complex, Tokyo, bore witness to a rare Sino-Japanese bridge building efforts, with the opening of an 11 day photographic exhibition to celebrate 60 years of peaceful co-existence between the uncomfortable Asian neighbors.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Beijing backed Information Office of the Chinese State Council, was officially opened to the public by Hong Kong Actor Jackie Chan and Japanese Table Tennis star Ace Fukuhara Ai, a regular competitor in the Chinese Ping Pong super league, on thursday, and consists of almost 200 photographs submitted by politicians, private individuals, celebrities, and the press that celebrate 60 years of post war cooperation and friendship between China and Japan.



Jackie Chan with and Fukuhara Ai ringing the bell to open the exhibition.



Vice Director Cai, Dirctor Zhao and Ambassador Wang cutting the opening ribbon.

 

 


 		"There are 2,000 years of friendly exchanges between China and Japan. The history of friendly exchanges is the mainstream compared with confrontations,"

Zhao Qizheng, Director, Information Office of the Chinese State Council, Japan.





Hong Kong flim star Jackie Chan promoting the exhibition

Those attending expressed the hope that exhibition will serve as a prominent reminder that, despite present difficulties, China and Japan share an immutable bond that must be fostered for the sake of future.

The exhibition is scheduled to run until 7 August.

Official Recognition

Coming as it does, during a period of deterioration in the often tense Sino-Japanese relationship, both the Chinese and the Japanese sides have been eager to display the importance of exhibition opening. An importance that was evident from the some of the guests field by both sides, including Japan's Kono Yohei, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Ogi Chikage the President of the House of Councillors, as well as Zhao Qizheng and Cai Mingzhao, the director and Vice-Director of the Information Office of the Chinese State Council and Wang Yi, the Chinese ambassadors to Japan.



Vice Director Cai and Director Zhao of the Information Office of the Chinese State Council
 


"Strengthening bilateral relations between China and Japan is significant for not only their [our] own prosperity, but also peace in Asia and the world"

Kono Yohei, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Japan






Chinese movie star Jackie Chan with 17 year old Japanese Table Tennis Ace Fukuhara Ai and Ambassador Wang.



Jackie Chan with 17 year old Japanese Table Tennis Ace Fukuhara Ai





Shouldn't this exhibit be in Beijing?

Though the opening of the exhibition has been broadly welcomed by peacemakers and photographic admirers alike, it is however the subject of some minor criticism; with critics voicing that, while the exhibition itself is an admirable venture, it is likely to do little to improve Sino-Japanese relations because it is being shown to 'the wrong people'. With the argument going that it is the Chinese who need to be reminded of 60 years of peaceful cooexistance with Japan, and not the other way around.

In this vent, observers have noted that many Sino-Japanese friendship initiative of recent years have been aimed directly at the Japanese people, but not at the Chinese people, with Beijing apparently doing little or nothing in their own back yards.

On the whole, most Japanese already hold strong positive feelings towards China, and critics voice that while exhibit is serving to reinforce those feelings, it does nothing to address growing anti-Japanese sentiment among the Chinese people; who harbor largely negative feelings about Japan, and that the exhibition of photographs in Tokyo does not help to dispel the negative myths and non truths about Japan that are still being actively promoted in China.

Critics have suggested that if Beijing were truly serious about mending the Sino-Japanese relationship, it would be making steps to correct Chinese views on modern day Japan, and stop using historical animosities as a political tools.

Note

The terms Table Tennis (卓球) and Ping Pong (ピンポン) are interchangeable.

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit


View Comments/Add a Comment (2)


1. davesgonechina left...
Wednesday, 17 August 2005 12:13 am :: http://silkworms.chinesetriad.org

Hey ACB, have the Chinese message boards started asking for Jackie Chan's head yet? Or do they not know about this yet? Maybe we can let them know and they'll put an end to his career before he makes "The Tuxedo Part II: Cumberbunds of Fury!"


2. ACB left...
Wednesday, 17 August 2005 12:35 am

To be honest, I tend to avoid that kind of message board, they do nothing but get me frustrated because there are so many people who hate without thinking and who won't except that Japan (with the exception of a very few loonies) isn't doing anything wrong and just wants to coexist peacefully.

Jackie Chan is actually Hong Kong Chinese and lived in Australia for a long time, so he hasn't been brainwashed by Beijing and he can think for himself. He's been to Japan many times and he speaks good Japanese. I'm not sure what his personal views are, but you can be quite certain that they won't be so unconditionally filled with hatred.

It is very telling though that this exhibition was sponsored directly by Beijing but wasn't held in Beijing, and even more so that the few reports that I heard from China that admitted that this celebration of coexistence existed had to try to turn it round and use it to attack Japan for its past.

What I find even sadder though is that there are western people out there who believe it when China says that Japan is hostile and that it hasn't apologized, and aren't actually willing to look at the situation for themselves, or to accept that the only thing that Japan isn’t doing to apologize is to humiliate itself a China wants it to.

There are actually Americans who still believe that worshipping at Japan's war shrine is the same as worshipping a war criminal. When you have free access to information to the contrary, that is insanity.